Membership Meeting Minutes – April 9, 2016
Stillwater Amateur Radio Association
1618 Pine Street West
Stillwater, Minnesota 55082
President: Joe KCØOIO
The meeting was called to order at 9:11 AM.
Secretary’s Report: Steve KAØOBI
The general meeting minutes from the March 12, 2016 meeting are posted on the website. Please report any corrections to: Secretary@radioham.org
Treasurer’s Report: John N5JLZ
Beginning Balance: 3/1/2016 $3,077.85
Income: $207.00
Expenses: $5.00
Ending Balance: 3/31/2016 $3,279.85 (Not including HELP income/expenses)
$9,649.07 (Including HELP income/expenses)
Education and Training: Bob WØGAF
Technician Class – has been very well attended with standing room only since two physics teachers are sending their students to class for extra credit. VE session is already scheduled to be held in Boutwells.
Extra Class Study Group – four participants so far.
New Ham Night will be held on May 19th at Brekke Park in Oak Park Heights.
Mobile Portable & Go-Kit Picnic with WashCo ARES will be held June 11th at Brekke Park.
Radios in the Park June 9th, July 7th, July 28th and Aug 18th will be held in Valley View Park.
Field Day is scheduled for June 25th & 26th at Autumn Hills Park. We will probably be operating Saturday until 9PM.
We are still working on activities for the Thursday Nite Eyeball Sessions. One project being considered is making roll-up J Pole antennas.
Activities & Events: Dave WØOXB (Not present – in WA)
Thursday Night Eye Ball Sessions – are held at Stillwater Public Library from 6 to 8 PM CDT.
Radios-in-the-Park – will be held in Brekke Park, Oak Park Heights on June 9th, July 7th, July 28th and Aug 18th.
Field Day 2016 is scheduled for June 25th & 26th at Autumn Hills Park.
MAP – Dave WØOXB (Not present – in WA)
Several MAP projects are being planned. Please keep in mind that Dave will be out of town until April 28th.
Handiham Equipment Liaison Program (HELP)
Both remote stations are up and running and available to SARA members. The stations are also CW capable. These stations can be accessed via remotehams.com using RCForbClient (accessible via Windows and Android only).
A table full of CW equipment was displayed and all items were for sale at the meeting.
The Brainerd Hamfest will be held Saturday, April 16th. Club members attending will be Keith AGØH, Bob WØGAF, and Joe KCØOIO.
All equipment sales are subject to MN sales tax and will be paid out of the proceeds.
Some of the HELP gear still needs to be tested. The Collins items are in the process of being tested and may need some work before sale. Most of the Collins power supplies will probably need to be re-capped due to their age.
Some free storage space has been secured to provide a new location for unsold equipment since the current storage facility will need to be emptied by the end of April to avoid paying future rent.
Washington County ARES: John KAØHYR (Not present – on vacation)
The ARES net meets on the 1st and 15th of each month on 146.985 on the SEMARC repeater.
The Mobile, Portable, Go-Kit Show & Tell is scheduled for June 11th at Brekke Park.
Check the web site www.mnwashcoares.org regularly for current events, net schedule, and other items of significance.
Digital Net: Joe KCØOIO
SARA DIGI Net at 3.581.5 MHz is held every Sunday night at 7 PM CDT. Use 3.581.15 – center up between 800 to 1000.
Two meter ragchew is held every Wednesday night at 9 PM CDT. You can find us at 147.060 MHz 114.8 Hz Tone.
160 meters SARA Top Band Ragchew is at 1.966 or 1.964 MHz. They operate every night except Tuesday & Thursday at 8 PM CDT.
Newsletter & Website: Pat WAØTDA & Dave WØOXB
Thanks to Pat and Dave for putting together the newsletter! Additional contributors are needed. The deadline for submissions for the May issue is the last Saturday of April. One more issue will be published before the summer break.
DX News: Mike NØODK (Not present – at work)
Mike will be going to Vietnam again later this year.
VKØEK on Heard Island will be operating thru April 10th on all bands and all modes.
Juan de Nova Island FT4JA – is scheduled to be operating thru April 11th.
Get the latest DX news by subscribing to the ARRL DX News. Also check out www.ng3k.com for DX & Contest Calendar.
Program Schedule
Apr: Dan WDØGUP – Fox Hunting
May: Jim KDØIPI – SOTA (Summits On The Air)
Old Business:
SARA coffee mugs are on sale for $3 each – See Keith AGØH.
The SARA Oval Sticker/Decals are on sale for $1 each or you can get a free one when you renew your annual membership ($20) for 2016.
New Business:
None
Good of Association:
SEMARC meeting – scheduled for the last Tuesday of each month at 7 PM at the Zion Lutheran Church in Cottage Grove.
50/50 Drawing:
The total amount collected was $44.
Program: Fox Hunting by Dan Franz WDØGUP
Dan explained the concept of fox hunting and how most of it centers around VHF signal triangulation using maps. The subtleties of fox hunting include unusual ways of attenuating the signals, bouncing signals off terrain and other objects like buildings. Application of common sense in trying to figure out the source of the transmitting signal (Fox) is a key principle.
The activity takes very little equipment. Most of the tracking equipment can be made from inexpensive items such as flexible metal tape measures, PVC pipe, welding rods, and coat hangers to construct portable directional antennas.
The transmitter sends out a signal which includes a Morse code identifier about once every minute. There may be a number of different foxes used at any given time. They can be identified as being different by their unique Morse code identifier.
In two weeks on 4/23, Dan will conduct a FoxHunt at Autumn Hills Park beginning at 9AM. You should bring your 2 meter HT preferably with a BNC connector to make it easier to connect to the directional antennas he will have available to use.
The program and meeting concluded at 10:50 AM.
Meeting attendance: 29